Aviator
by Hikareh
Summary: Tails sees a lot of stuff in his day-to-day life, from the most extraordinary heroic acts to the most normal and domestic. Here are just some of the stories. /Oneshot collection from Tails's POV/ Latest: Sonic stares out the window on his birthday, contemplating, and Tails needs to get him out of the house.
1. Customer Service

Notes: This, truly, has no story behind it beyond the fact that the big project I'm working on right now (a Harry Potter AU) has exactly zero Tails in it at this point in time (though it will eventually) and I'm really missing him. So, I've been writing... a lot from his POV. The only rule in this collection is that every oneshot will be from Tails's POV and after that there's no rules. These will be mainly domestic in nature, but there might be some adventures. Also, expect a lot of reflection on Sonic's character, because who else is better equipped to remark on Sonic than his best friend? Look out, here comes snark.

I know that most people who do these types of oneshots like to say how old Sonic and Tails are at the beginning of each chapter, but I'm not about that life so I'll slip it into the narrative itself if it's important. If it's not there, feel free to imagine Tails between the ages of eight and twelve.

All, right, let's get this train rolling.

Disclaimer: I'm from a time when we did these and I can't let go of the past.

Onward!

* * *

 _Aviator_

 _1\. Customer Service_

 _(In which Tails answers the phone and immediately regrets it.)_

* * *

Tails knows, intellectually, that Eggman must have his fingers in countless pies in order to have enough money to build all his outrageous flying bases, but sometimes his search programs turn up some ridiculous results: fast food joint, a forestry business (he had plans to check that one out next week; the last thing they needed was a robot that tossed full-sized _trees_ at Sonic's head), a movie theater, a mall, and even a water park.

And, as Tails is now painfully aware, a tech company.

A tech company with customer service reps. Who answer phones. And very gently and patiently tell frustrated consumers to please power cycle their OWL brand computers and cell phones even though they know that won't fix the issue but it's _protocol_.

Tails knows all this because Sonic's great big good idea of the year was for someone to go undercover at this tech company because, "Tails, don't you see, this can't be good. What if he's sending gaba waves into people's brains through their phones? Mind control, Tails!" And who better to send in than the tech genius?

So, grumbling that GABA is a neurotrasmitter, not a _wave_ , Tails was bundled into Sonic's version of a disguise—glasses, that's it—and pushed into the nine-to-five grind. He doesn't even remember the review process, but his fabricated references and resume were more than enough to get him a job, so here he is, sitting here before a computer with terrible virus protection with a headset over his ears. The glasses are too tight and he's getting a headache, which is just making him even more angry, and he knows he's going to yell at the next person that rings his phone.

He hasn't found much, not that he can get away from his desk. Still, he's hacked the computer right open and Eggman honest to Chaos has it hooked into his main network. There's a massive firewall Tails can't get through with this weak-as-wet-paper terminal protecting his main data, but Tails has access to thousands of worthless junk files, all detailing the retail empire Eggman has managed to build himself. It's easy as hell to get it all into the portable hard drive he brought, but he can't even feel victorious because all this only took fifteen minutes into his first shift and it's basically worthless. Not like they can just attack a paper towel factory for no reason, even if they know who owns it.

So, with terabytes of data squirreled away, he still doesn't know anything.

Well, he knows one thing: for all his patience with Sonic, Tails can be terribly impatient with people who just want to yell at him because their precious laptops won't do what they want. It's not like he can't relate, but he's also of the mind that you should try to solve your own problems before yelling at someone else.

The phone rings. He sighs, mentally preparing for the next screaming fit, and hits the button to answer it. "OWL customer service. My name is Miles. How can I help you today?"

"Green beans," the voice on the other end whispers. It's so faint, Tails almost doesn't hear it.

"Excuse me?"

" _Green beans!"_ the voice returns, now at normal volume but with all the oomph of a quarterback calling out a play. Something in his head recognizes the voice, but he can't place it through the distortion of the phone.

"Um, okay, sir, I think you have the wrong number..."

"Tails, it's me! Sonic!"

Distantly, Tails feels his headache begin to throb because of course it is. "Sonic? What the heck? Why are you yelling vegetables at me?"

"It's the code word, Tails! How else could know it was me?"

Tails sighs and opens his mouth to rip into Sonic, but then he notices the person across from him sending him a strange glance and he decides against it. He leans further into his desk to at least pretend he has privacy. "What do you want, Sonic?"

"Do you know how many times I had to call to get you? There's a lotta people working there. I had a nice conversation with a lady named Macy though. You should invite her over for dinner sometime. She sounds like she has lovely kids."

" _Sonic_ ," Tails grits, "you do realize these calls are monitored, right?"

"Of course, I'm not completely dense. I hooked your computer trace blocker thingie into the call. I've seen you do it enough times."

Of course he had, and Sonic's a quick study. Show him how to do anything a few times and he can replicate it flawlessly. But, that's not the point.

"What do you need, man? I got like everyone watching me because I'm the new guy. I can't be taking a personal call. They're gonna find me out."

"Oh, that's whatever. We have a new lead."

" _What_?"

"Yeah, Knuckles saw something from Angel Island like two hours ago. The tech stuff can wait."

" _What_?"

"Yeah, so you can like, come back."

"Sonic... Why didn't you tell me this... _two hours ago_?"

"Because! I told you! It too me _forever_ to get you!"

"You could've just _run_ here!"

"Yeah but then your cover would'a been blown!"

Tails can practically see Sonic's snake charmer smile, the one he uses when he's trying to jerk Tails around. Sometimes... Sometimes Tails could kill his friend. Sixteen-years-old and he's about to commit murder.

"You're so full of crap," Tails mutters as he hits a few keys to remove his presence from the computer entirely. The hard drive whines in response and Tails hits it once. The piece of junk does what its told slowly, and then Tails turns it off completely. "I'll meet you at the Workshop."

"See you there!" Sonic trills and the line goes dead.

Tails tugs the headset off and spikes it into his chair. "I'm going to the bathroom," he rumbles to the nosey ferret across from him and she nods in return.

He turns, leaves, and never comes back.

* * *

 _Reviews are cherished._


	2. Switched

Notes: This one is an exercise in aftermaths and focus. Also stress.

Disclaimer: My master's thesis is domestic realism literary fiction, so that's the only excuse I can offer for why this collection is the way it is.

Forward!

* * *

 _Aviator_

 _2\. Switched_

 _(In which Sonic is strong and Knuckles is fast and Tails has to deal with it.)_

* * *

"I can't move without blasting into space," Knuckles grumbles from where he's growing roots on Tails's couch. He's been sitting there for almost six hours now, hands fisted in his lap, feet crossed at the ankles, staring at the TV, trying not to move too quickly. Tails, for his part, hasn't moved much in that time either, but for a whole different reason. He's been sentenced to the couch prison by Sonic the Cleaning Machine, aka the big brother who is finally fed up with the state of this place and has made it his single-minded goal to clean it up. Why? people will ask Tails one day in the future, when he puts this in his memoir. Why is Sonic cleaning?

Because, Sonic, as of eight hours ago, spontaneously developed the ability to pick up anything he set his mind to.

Well, _spontaneously_ might be the wrong word for the situation. The strength is Knuckles's, so there's the source, and the medium through which it traveled was some energy beam Eggman pointed dead center at both Sonic and Knuckles's chests (Tails doesn't know how it happened; all he has to go on is Knuckles's oral retelling, and Knuckles isn't exactly the most truthful when he's embarrassed or upset), through which the good doctor managed to swap Sonic and Knuckles's abilities.

Hence, Knuckles blasting into space. The poor echidna has no idea how to handle Sonic's speed. One wrong twitch and he's zipping across the room without warning, slamming into walls and tripping over his own feet. About an hour after they got back here (in which Tails quarantined the two to the workshop until he found a solution), Knuckles accidentally stepped too fast and ended up in Chun-nan. Of course, he was back in about two minutes, screaming and cursing, but Sonic very gently pushed him onto the couch and told him to _think slowly_ , which was probably a barb of some sort because Knuckles reared back and punched him in the shoulder. The resulting hiss of pain wasn't the typical _what the hell, man_ but more of an "ow" and then an honest to Chaos giggle which left Knuckles fuming.

"I can't believe Sonic can control it this easily," Knuckles grumbles next to him, as he has been for the past few hours. Ever since Sonic started his cleaning crusade (during which he studiously ignored Tails's piping reminders that he has _robots_ that do the cleaning), Knuckles has been a storm cloud of anger, frustration, and sadness. He flips between the three regularly and Tails has had a ball studying his emotional fragility, but he's also getting a bit tired of it all. His brief foray into research over this problem had yielded nothing beyond _it'll wear off eventually_ which was fine by him, but not so much for Knuckles. Poor guy.

"Sonic's adaptable," Tails says in return, watching Knuckles fold his arms in the dark television's reflection.

"Yeah, but it's not like... Tails, you don't know how strong I am."

"I can imagine." Tails sighs and cranes his neck back to look at the ceiling. "I think Sonic's just trying to cope."

"Huh?"

"He lost his speed. He's not used to being this slow. I guess he just turned all that anxious frustration into adaptation. Think about it. Cleaning? That's busywork. Keep-your-mind-off-now work."

Knuckles is silent as he looks down at his hands. In the television, Tails sees him curl his fingers into fists.

"All right!" Sonic's voice calls from behind them and they both jump. Knuckles flickers beside him and Tails distantly wonders how far he got this time. "Now's the hard part!"

"Sonic, mark my words," Knuckles says as he turns slowly, slowly, with patient, measured movements, "when I get my strength back, I'm gonna punch you into the core."

"You'll have to catch me first," Sonic replies offhand, grinning at Tails as the fox turns to look at him. He's holding a small hand vacuum, and his gaze shifts so he can at the couch with a furrowed brow. "Okay, I know what to do. Hold on kids."

"Wait, wha—!"

Sonic puts one hand under the couch and _lifts_ , propelling both Tails and Knuckles into the air. As they both scramble to grab hold of the cushions, the vacuum turns on with a dull buzz.

"Sonic!" Tails hears Knuckles yell, and Knuckles's whole body is vibrating, as if he's about to shake himself onto a different plane of existence. The stress of the day has finally reached its head, and Tails can see that Knuckles has reached his breaking point. Chaos... The last thing they need is _Knuckles_ —

"Sonic, put us down!" Tails screeches, because he doesn't want to be up here when Knuckles eventually figures out that he can jump off this thing and kick Sonic in the shin with the power of a freight train in less than half a second.

"Hang on! I gotta get the dust bunnies!" The couch bobs as Sonic ducks under it to get better access to the dirt.

"They're paying rent!" Tails tries, because Sonic always reacts better to banter. "Let them stay!"

Across from him, Knuckles's has finally put it together. Tails can see it in his eyes. He has about two seconds to make a decision: roll off the couch and hope it doesn't land on him in the inevitable scuffle, or stay put and hit the ground with it.

It's not much of an option, really.

Knuckles vaults over the armrest in a blur of red. Almost simultaneously, Sonic cries out in pain, and Tails's stomach drops open as the couch disappears from under him.

The fall is short because Sonic's height combined with the length of his arm is only about five feet, but Tails doesn't _like_ falling. He's a _flier_ , an _aviator_ , the last thing he ever wants is to _fall_. After lightning, that's fear number two. So, he yells, and then he lands on the cushions with an _oof_ and he lays there as Sonic groans about being kicked.

"That felt good," Knuckles declares very matter-of-factly.

Sonic and Tails grunt in return.

* * *

 _Reviews are cherished._


	3. Scouting

Notes: My Sonic Discord group has already seen this one, but I won't stop you from reading it again if you would like. ;) Also, thank you so much for your kind reviews! I'll get to replying to them soon. When school lets up. In May.

Anyway.

Disclaimer: Sonic Forces, amirite? The instrumental theme reached deep into my punk soul and brought the guitar lover back to the surface. Sick.

Forward!

* * *

 _Aviator_

 _3\. Scouting_

 _(In which Sonic's mouth is bigger than Tails's wallet.)_

* * *

Sonic, Tails reflects as he watches the hedgehog spy a group of scouts selling cookies and immediately start toward them, has an affinity for children. It's something he's picked up easily, seeing as he is one of these children, perhaps _the_ child, but it's also a curse in and of itself. Yes, Sonic's weakness when it comes to big eyes, wide smiles, and tiny, clutching fingers is what endeared him to Tails in the first place (that and the starvation and the brain, the fox likes to believe), but it's also what makes him increasingly vulnerable to innocent little people peddling deadly sugar bombs in front of supermarkets.

In this specific case, Sonic marches right up and crouches before the smallest scout, dressed in her tiny little green vest, peppered with multicolored badges, and says, to her shocked face, "What'cha sellin'?"

The girl, to her credit, manages to pull it together quickly. Her large pug's muzzle sniffs once as she sucks in a breath to tell him, exactly, what they're selling, and she flings her arm toward the table, where the rainbow boxes sit waiting for Sonic's long fingers to pluck them up. "We got all kinds, Mister Sonic, sir! What do you like?"

"Hmm..." Sonic cocks his head to the side, eyes the boxes, and points at a red one. "I don't think I've ever had those."

Tails can't help himself. He blurts, "You have."

"Huh?"

"You just bought those from some kids a few weeks ago."

Sonic, unfazed at being caught, simply lolls his head toward Tails and asks, with all the conviction of a confused child, "Did I like them?"

Tails sighs because Sonic knows if he liked them or not. He's just jerking Tails around for the sake of it—maybe as penance for interrupting his time with the children. Still, the kids and the moms are staring at him so he answers. "Yeah? I guess. You ate the whole box."

"All right. Okay, I want six."

" _Six_?" Tails practically belches out of shock at the same time the little girl squeals.

"You got it, Mister Sonic! Quick, Abby, six peanut butter!"

"Mm, peanut butter."

" _Real_ ly Sonic," Tails begins, in full lecture mode. Sonic waves him off.

"It's just a few cookies, Tails. You're like, what? Ten? You should like cookies."

Tails grumbles but he can't argue with that because he _does_ , but maybe he's _jealous_ and—

No, no. We're not going there Tails.

The girl trots back with the boxes, stacked high, and Sonic accepts them easily, cupping his larger hands around the edges like they're a pile of delicate infants. "How much I owe you?"

"Thirty mobiums, Mister Sonic!"

" _Thirty_ —"

"Tails, I forgot my wallet. Pay her please."

Tails, blindsided and flabbergasted all at once, can only say, "You don't have a wallet."

"You're right." Sonic's smile is sunny and cheery. "I'll pay you back."

Tails grumbles, because no he won't, and pulls a few crumpled bills out. He passes them over to the tiny pug child and she beams at him. "Thank you Mister Tails! I hope you enjoy the cookies!"

"No, thank you!" Sonic and Tails say together, a mixture of exuberance and dread.

* * *

 _I am loathe to open myself to requests because once I do that I always get more requests than actual reviews, but I want to be able to update this story often. I have a few caveats if you're going to drop me an idea, however: 1. actually review the story please. I work hard on these and really like the feedback. 2. Your idea has to be writeable in under 1,500 words as I like to knock these out in 30 minutes. Otherwise they get too long and take too much time. 3. It has to be_ _ **interesting**_ _, both narratively and plot-wise. If it's not interesting enough, I'll probably take it and twist it if I can._

 _Otherwise, have at it. Requests (for this story) are open!_

 _Reviews are cherished._


	4. 2am

Notes: I feel like I need to make this clear: this collection is from Tails's POV yeah, but don't let the third person fool you. I'm approaching this as if these were stories that Tails would tell, what he would think important in these bigger than life moments. He's the very essence of this whole thing and my cherry-picking of instances is intentionally vague and a little artsy. Tails is particular.

Disclaimer: This one goes out to all the other kids who, like me, returned to Shamar often just to visit Tails.

* * *

 _Aviator_

 _4\. 2am_

 _(In which the planet is fractured and Sonic just needs some sleep.)_

* * *

The planet was in pieces and Sonic was missing most days, cavorting across the planet with his newest tagalong. Not that Tails was jealous or anything—just exhausted and swamped with research, trying to help Professor Pickle as best as he could. Sonic took the plane to get from place to place (because he couldn't exactly run with the continents in their current state) so Tails didn't exactly have a way out of Shamar, but that was fine really. He had too much work to do and Amy was there to keep him company, even if she did have a tendency to run off at odd times. She was in love with the Feast of the Sun and Moon and escaped into the night to see the sights, which suited Tails just fine. He was usually asleep anyway.

It wasn't that he didn't like the Festival. It was just that he didn't like the heat. He knew that his ancestors were most likely red foxes—the most pervasive and spread of all—but he didn't like it. It was dry and sunbaked and he just liked the coolness of the lab, dark silence of nothing but him and the whirring of the air conditioner. He was getting soft, hadn't been on any adventures in a while, and it was showing. One of these days, he would have to pull himself up and go out with Sonic but now... Right now, Sonic needed him here.

So, he spent most of his days sequestered in the lab, huddled over his tablet, tracking Sonic as he used the _Tornado_. Sometimes, he went out for food with Amy, but otherwise, he was alone.

Some nights, he fell asleep over his work. Others, he clambered onto the couch to sleep. Sometimes, he stayed up the whole night and the next day, twitchy, eyes bloodshot, reaching for coffee before his brain could want for it. It wasn't healthy, but big brother wasn't around to fuss at him so he did what he wanted. So what if his behavior was destructive? He was ten years old and a genius. He could take care of himself. He was _independent_ now.

This specific night was a bad one. He'd been up for over twenty-four hours and he could feel it behind his eyes, pushing against his whole skull, in his limbs, in each individual hair on his body. Everything was drooping, dragging, from his eyes to his tails to his ears. He fell asleep with the Miles Electric illuminating his face, coffee cold on the table, head thudding into the wood as he nodded off.

He didn't know he was asleep until he woke up.

It was dark, only the light of the Festival creeping under the door to illuminate the space: a harsh slash that streaked all the way from the threshold to the far wall. Quickly, Tails's night vision kicked in and he sat up, woozy, hands searching.

He was on the couch.

His hearing kicked in then, and he could hear it, just there, under the noise of the Festival—slight snoring, alien, breathy, familiar. That was the sound of Sonic trying to sleep, breathing around his newly-enlarged teeth, recognizable only because of the few nights Sonic had passed out here under Tails and Amy's watchful vigil. It had been so strange then that Tails had taken special note of it, and here it was again, unchanged, constant, the gentle in and out of his best friend, still alive.

Tails breathed out a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Sonic to take care of himself. It was just that Tails trusted his eyes, trusted _data_ , trusted his senses more than anything else, and if he couldn't _see_ that Sonic was okay, then he might not be. It was Schrodinger's hedgehog—both dead and alive until Tails could check again.

Eyes now adjusted, Tails sighed and stood, because he needed to plug his tablet in and whoever (Sonic) had put him on the couch had tried to avoid putting pressure on his tails but hadn't succeeded. Tails could only imagine how awkward things must be with those large hands of Sonic's new form, confusing and stumbling and extra-long, _with claws_ ; it was probably impossible to grab things, impossible to gently handle anything, impossible to even transport a small fox cub from the desk to the couch. He probably didn't want to hurt Tails as he moved him...

Tails shook his head and padded toward the desk, careful to step around Sonic. He was curled up on a pile of pillows on the floor like a pup, one hand covering his own snout, snoring lightly. His quills moved with his breathing, swaying like tree branches in a light breeze. Tails was tempted to reach out and pat him, half-wondering if this is how Sonic felt when he saw Tails sleeping in much the same position. It was a canine thing, doubly so for Tails because his namesakes created a sort of cradle when he was stressed, but the urge to smooth down the fur of a sleeping dog was a strong one no matter the species.

He shook his head and continued forward. The desk was in the middle of the room and he easily spotted his tablet, face down, probably still on because Sonic wouldn't handle it now—too scared he would break it.

Scooping it up, he turned back to the couch, where its charging cradle was awaiting its burden. The screen was dark, so maybe Sonic had shut it off, and unmarred, so at least it hadn't gotten scratched when he dozed off earlier.

As he passed Sonic again, a pair of luminous eyes poked out from the bundle and blinked at him. His heart nearly seized in his chest as he saw them, but then he realized it was Chip, his little green bauble just catching the light and flashing in Tails's eyes.

"Hey," the tiny creature called, easily extracting himself from Sonic's person. He buzzed into the air as Tails watched him, unmoving. "You got any chocolate?"

Tails sighed out his annoyance in order to answer clinically. "No."

"Oh. Sonic said you would."

Tails felt his hands clutch tightly around the tablet. "Well, I don't."

"Too bad... Hey, wait." Tails, turning to continue to the couch, rolled his eyes and swiveled back around. "Where are you going?"

Tails held the tablet up. "Needs to charge."

"Oh, okay! Hurry back!"

In his sleep, Sonic snuffled and mumbled something. Slightly, he rolled out of his ball, loosening as their voices filtered through his slumber.

"Be quiet," Tails hissed as he darted to the charger. Sonic desperately needed his sleep, especially if the news reports were to be believed. He'd been up almost every night last week, probably only getting a few hours sleep just after dawn. He didn't like to sleep in his werehog form and Tails honestly didn't blame him. He couldn't imagine what it was like, trying to sleep like that.

"Sorry," Chip whispered back, still quite loud. Tails resisted another sigh. "C'mon," Chip called as Tails turned back to him, Miles Electric finally back in its cradle. The flying creature gestured at Sonic's sleeping form, as if Tails knew what he was talking about.

"What?" His voice was blunt, hard, because he didn't like games, especially now.

"He was saying your name earlier." Chip shrugged. "I think he misses you."

" _What_?"

"Yeah. C'mon. He wanted to come back here to see you."

Tails felt his legs pull him across the floor slowly, as if he were wading through water, and he dropped to his knees beside Sonic. Chip, grinning, buzzed down so that he was above Sonic's head and he very gently patted him on the temple.

"Huh?" Sonic's voice was gruffer than usual, the product of sleep, and his bright green eyes blinked open. Pupils blowing wide to make up for the darkness, he zeroed in on Tails immediately and his lips pulled up over his teeth into what Tails figured was supposed to be a smile. "Hey buddy."

"Hey, you look terrible."

"Thanks. You too. Been having trouble sleeping?"

Usually, Tails would be annoyed with how easily Sonic read him, but this time it just caused a pang to go through his heart. "Not as much as you, I imagine."

"Pssh." Sonic waved a hand, nearly hitting himself in the face as he did. "Me? Never been better." As if to accentuate his point, he yawned wide, maw gaping to give Tails a good view of those teeth, almost a mirror image of his own except a lot bigger.

" _Su_ re," Tails sang at him, namesakes twitching a bit to show just how unimpressed he was.

Sonic knew when he'd been caught. "Okay, yeah, but I plan on catching up tonight. Care to join me?"

He patted the space in front of him on his little pillow bed, but Tails knew what he really wanted. Sonic was tactile, sensory, and probably touch-starved after nearly a month of globetrotting and transformations. He was desperate for some kind of contact, even if it meant asking his younger brother for a dogpile at night.

There was once a time when he and Sonic shared a bed every night, back when he was little (mainly because they could only _afford_ one bed but that was beside the point) and terrified of the world. Sonic would curl around him, protecting him from the harsh world beyond their little, cheap motel rooms, and Tails would sleep soundly, without a worry. These days, those nights were reserved to thunderstorms, but Tails could imagine that Sonic was missing the normalcy and gentle reminder that he wasn't alone, especially now with the planet fractured and an unfamiliar body.

Tails acquiesced easily, drawing himself into Sonic's little ball without asking. Shocked for a second, Sonic quickly recovered and coiled his much larger body around Tails's, pulling the fox into the plush fur of his chest. Tails breathed in, smelling the strange world-smells that clung to him even now—and just under all that, the normal Sonic-smells. If the wind had a scent, this would be it—breezy and clear and clean.

"G'night," Tails muttered, already drowsy again. Just barely, he felt Chip worm in between his stomach and Sonic's, creating a little hollow out of their bodies.

Sonic didn't say anything, but that was probably because the now-soothing sound of his snores had started up again.

* * *

 _Reviews are cherished._


	5. Intertwined

Notes: I am, in fact, the person that once wrote The Genesis of a Generation. It has no left me, no matter how much I tried to deny it.

Disclaimer: I'm no astrophysicist, so just accept the pseudo-science.

* * *

 _Aviator_

 _5\. Intertwined_

 _(In which there is a moment of timelessness and Tails talks with himself.)_

* * *

"I'm still not sure if we're from the same timeline," Tails's younger self muttered as he tapped away at the Miles Electric's screen. "When does Little Planet appear in your timeline?"

Tails sighed and held his hand up to observe the fibers of his gloves, the pull of them as he flexed his fingers. "Last month of the year."

The smaller Tails looked up, gazed at his older self, took in Tails's lackluster attention and sprawled, relaxed position on the White Space's soft-not-soft ground. "Aren't you worried?"

Tails let his hand fall, let it smack into his own stomach. "We're in a pocket dimension. Odds are, you are from the same timeline because the _rest_ of it is. Besides, time still exists if there's time in the Zones."

"But the Time Eater—"

Tails groaned, obnoxious, channeling Sonic because that was what interacting with his younger self did to him. Six-year-old Tails had a sort of preparatory, try-hard, anticipating genius; everything had to be solved seamlessly, earnestly, quickly, and it was this dedication that allowed him to strap rockets to biplanes in record time, but it was also this insistence that wouldn't let a problem rest until it was solved. The Tails of now (whenever _now_ was) was a more laid-back, knowledgeable genius. He knew his strengths and his lengths, his abilities and his weaknesses, and this was one of those moments. The problem here was simple, but his younger self didn't believe it.

"I wish you would stop calling it that. Sonic is absolutely terrible at naming things. Why do we keep letting him?" Tails grumbled as he closed his eyes to the glare of the White Space. "It doesn't eat time, just displaces it. If it ate it, we wouldn't know it was gone. There can't be an absence of something if it doesn't still exist."

"Extinct species would argue with that," the smaller fox shot back, and Tails lolled his head to look at him, honestly look at him. His younger self blinked back at him, big, disc-like, a small universe of IQ points and knowledge staring him down and the elder fox forced himself to look away.

He knew the danger of his own eyes, especially in that young skull. He had manipulated Sonic into many an extra dessert with just that gaze.

"Okay, so if it _does_ eat time," Tails muttered to the white distance before him, "which I doubt, then why not just eat it all? I think it's just a dimension hopper."

"Oh, I agree. I just thought we might be from different universes."

Something about the younger fox's tone struck Tails right between the ribs, rattled through the cage, annoying, demanding attention. He felt one his ears flick. "Why?"

It came out harsher than he expected, but there was something between them that Tails couldn't put his finger on, almost as if the smaller fox was implying— No, he couldn't be.

"No reason!" he trilled, chipper, ever the pacifier, Tails to the core. "So, how do you think we should tell Sonic? That we're traveling through time and space, I mean."

Tails sat up and turned to face him completely, crossing his legs in front of himself and putting his hands on his knees, namesakes coming to curl around him on either side. "No, why do you think we're from different universes?" It was bothering him mainly because he liked to imagine that he was the best possible self he could be, considering the circumstances. If a younger version of himself wasn't happy with that, albeit he was only _six_ so his opinion didn't matter... Still, if a younger version of himself wasn't happy with what he would become, he might try to change it and Tails was very happy with his current state thank you very much. He couldn't have this tiny version of him screwing that up.

Okay, and yeah, he was slightly bothered that his younger self wasn't exactly taken with what he would become. Tails was proud of himself, but that didn't mean he wasn't upset by the prospect of not wowing his past self.

"It's nothing! It's just weird to me how Sonic just ran off without asking for help..."

Ah, that explained a lot actually. Tails didn't claim to be a master of understanding people and how they worked, but he did know himself and he did know this: the fear that Sonic would one day outgrow him.

He tried to be nonchalant. He didn't want to give too much away about what was to come in the small fox's life. That might lead to some paradoxes. "He does that, but he'll be back."

The smaller fox looked down at his own lap, at the scuffed and battered tablet that belonged to his older self but he knew how to use intrinsically, inexplicably. "He does this... a lot?"

Tails didn't want to sugarcoat it, but he also couldn't lie to himself. "Not as much as he used to. There just... came a point where I stopped trying to keep up."

The tiny vulpine nodded, biting his lip, ears lowering, as if the very prospect of it, of losing Sonic for even a second was shattering. It was back then, still kind of was today, and Tails quickly backpedaled, reaching out to place his hand on the other's tiny shoulder.

"It's like this." He waited for the six-year-old to look up at him. "Sonic's too fast so I had to come at him from a different angle, get it?" He held his hands up, one representing Sonic, the other himself. The Sonic hand moved forward quickly, while the Tails hand came in above it and at a right angle and they crossed in the middle, moving at the same speed. "We meet up when it matters, and he always comes back."

Tiny Tails blinked those wide disk eyes and nodded, still crushed, still defeated, but not as much as before. That was the best Tails could hope for, honestly. He might have been a genius, but he was still only six; there was only so much he could understand and cope with, emotionally.

"But it'll be okay?"

"Huh?" Tails didn't know what that meant.

"You— _I'll_ be okay?"

Tails smiled and reached out to rub the smaller fox between the ears, eliciting small giggles just as he knew he would. "I'm sitting here, aren't I? You'll be more than okay."

He didn't say anything in reply, but his shoulders did slump, exhausted from the day, its adventures, and its emotions. They would have to sleep soon. Even if there wasn't time here, their bodies still needed rest.

The foxes drew into their own bubbles, the smaller one still with the Miles Electric, the elder with his own thoughts. He fell back onto his back, one leg propped up on the other, and let his eyes lose focus as he stared at the endless white above him. It was easier not to think right now, not when he could feel his younger self using every brain cell in his tiny brain to figure everything out. This place could only handle one supercomputer working at once, he thought.

There was no time here so there was no telling how long it took, but it was long enough for the smaller fox to scoot over and fall asleep near his older self, curled into a small ball, namesakes twitching with dreams, but Sonic eventually emerged from the gate, looking irritated, watching his feet as he walked and rubbing his head.

"Hey," Tails grunted, not moving from his comfortable spot on the ground.

"Oh, thank Chaos, you're here."

"Where would I go?"

"I don't know!" Sonic threw his hands up. "Listen man, you'll never believe what I just saw! There were _two_ of me!"

Tails gestured lazily toward his younger self and watched Sonic follow the movement with his eyes. Then, those eyes widened, and widened further, and his mouth fell open to match them.

Sonic squealed.

"Tails! It's you! _Tiny_!"

"Yep."

"There's two!"

"You can count."

"Shut up, Tails! This is great! There's two of you!"

All the yelling woke the younger Tails and he sat up, blinking. He saw Sonic and stiffened, eyes scanning his face, trying to reconcile the green irises and dark blue with the Sonic of his memory.

"He's awake!" Sonic whispered loudly, almost in a cry. "Oh, it's been so long since you've been this small!" Sonic crouched down and held his hands out. "Hey, little guy, can I have a hug? I missed you."

"Hey, what the hell, man!" Tails whisper-cried back, just to be dramatic. "I've been here this whole time!"

"Yeah but now you're sarcastic. Little you isn't. C'mon Tails, buddy, it's Sonic. I give real good hugs now."

The young fox was looking back and forth between Tails and Sonic, trying to find a sign, and Tails sighed and gave it to him—a simple head nod, which the child mirrored. Sonic grinned wide and swept him up, pulling him up from the ground and spinning him around, eliciting small gasps and giggles.

Tails watched as they slowed to a stop and Sonic drew the six-year-old close to his chest. Looking back in time, Tails saw his own, smaller hand curl into the fur of Sonic's shoulder, clutching for dear life, for traction, for anything, and Sonic reacted by rubbing a gentle hand down his back.

"You're back," squeaked the small voice, breathless with relief.

"Of course I'm back," Sonic replied without hesitation, gently pulling the fox away from his shoulder so he could look at him. "I always come back. And you know why?"

Tails shook his head. Sonic glanced back at the older fox and winked at him.

"Because you're always where I expect you to be."

* * *

 _Reviews are cherished._


	6. Dabbling

Notes: I've survived finals and return to you. This chapter is **pure crack** , just a mcfreakin warning.

Dedication: To Katiemonz, my lovely gf. Happy one month bby! The fact that we picked this subject to write/draw for our anniversary is the perfect personification of our relationship.

Disclaimer: Lighten up and laugh some, yeah?

* * *

 _Aviator_

 _6\. Dabbling_

 _(In which Knuckles picks up a new habit and it haunts Sonic.)_

* * *

Sonic was a ball of manic, controlled energy next to him. He was vibrating, that's how upset he was, in his seat, watching as Tails poked around in the wires of his newest project—a Chaos reactor, but an advanced one, a delicate one, not something that benefitted from having a hyperactive, perturbed hedgehog sitting near it—but he had it under lock and key. He was _sitting_ , which was huge, so Tails was confident that he wouldn't explode any time soon.

Without warning, that is.

Knuckles was sat at Tails's computer terminal, scrolling through a few newsfeeds, looking for signs of trouble and pretending to ignore Sonic's troubled presence. This was his fault—Sonic was absolutely this jittery because of Knuckles, but it was all so funny that Tails couldn't fault him for it. In fact, he was looking forward to the next reaction—it promised to be pretty huge.

So, the lay of the land, if you will: Sonic was a memer. It was a largely unknown fact. He loved making stupid, contextually driven jokes, especially if they were abstract and confusing. This was possibly because Knuckles could never understand him—seeing as he lived in a place that didn't get internet, let alone _cultural context_ —and the echidna's frustration was lifeblood for Sonic. Tails swore it made him look younger. Knuckles put up with it just because he had to; he had threatened to punch Sonic once, but they were equally matched, speed and strength, so Sonic always dodged it. Knuckles gave up soon after.

But, now, there was a meme that Knuckles _understood_ : dabbing—the silly dance move where you prop your head into the bend of your elbow, while raising your other arm in a parallel direction but out straight. Knuckles loved it, did it every chance he got, just to taunt Sonic. For a little while, Sonic hopped right on board, dabbing alongside him every chance he got. But then, Knuckles, finally tasting the thrill of a cultural inside jokes, decided that wasn't enough. He took to dabbing behind Sonic's back, just where the hedgehog could barely see him in his peripheral vision. Arms flinging, head bowed, Knuckles became a dab master, and Sonic wasn't fast enough to catch him. Every time he tried to flip around to pin him with a strong pointer finger and a loud _stop!_ , Knuckles was back to normal. It was like their abilities had been flipped: Knuckles was faster than the strength of Sonic's will.

Sonic was haunted, unable to catch him, unsure when he was dabbing or just sneezing, and he couldn't stand it anymore. That was how he found his way beside Tails, seeking the protection of his sidekick, eyes locked on Knuckles as he did his research.

Knuckles sneezed, directing it into his elbow. Sonic ratcheted up a few stress points.

"If he does it again, I'm gonna lose it, Tails," he hissed, just loud enough for the both of them to hear. By the computer, Knuckles smirked.

Tails had one wire trapped in his pliers, another stripped of its rubber casing, and he hissed, "If you don't chill, you're gonna jostle me and this thing is gonna blow."

"Tell _him_!" Sonic gestured in Knuckles direction like he was landing a plane, both arms fully extended. His elbow knocked into Tails's shoulder and Sonic let out a small, high pitched sound, the pure embodiment of fear.

Tails let out a harsh breath. "Do you want to die today?" It wasn't a threat, just a simple question, and Sonic knew it.

"Not my fault!" Sonic was whispering, harsh, as if sound was what could cause Tails to jump and not a sudden explosion of movement and rage. Really, the reactor probably _wouldn't_ explode if Tails screwed up, but Sonic didn't know that, and it was adding to the fun. If it made Sonic suffer, then it was fair payback for the terrible jokes of the past—revenge was fair play in this friendship.

"Hey Tails," Knuckles called, and he stretched— _stretched!_ —his arms above his head as Tails and Sonic turned their eyes on him. Sonic let out a close-mouthed screaming noise. "I think I found something."

"What is it?"

Knuckles's hands fell on the keyboard and Sonic relaxed some. "Underwater structure, probably large enough to be a robot factory. Want me to go check it out?"

"I'll go!" Sonic snapped to his feet, hand thrown into the air like he was in a classroom.

There was a pause, wherein Knuckles and Tails stared at Sonic, and then each other. _Who's gonna tell him?_ they asked each other with the force of their eyes, and Tails pushed off his goggles, up to the crown of his head, so Sonic could see his face completely.

"Sonic, it's _underwater_."

"I'm not deaf," Sonic shot back, slinging a leg over the workbench. "You have a sub."

"It's a prototype—"

"So?"

"It might crumble if you go too deep."

"Then I won't go too deep!"

"I'll go with him, Tails," Knuckles put in, grinning like a shark.

" _No!_ " Sonic cried, and then calmed down, holding his hands palm out toward Knuckles. "No, I don't need help."

Knuckles craned back in his seat, lifting the front legs off the ground. "I can't believe you're this intimidated by _the dab_."

"Don't call it that. You don't deserve it."

"Chaos." Knuckles let his chair fall back to the floor. "You _really are_! Sonic the Hedgehog, defeated by a _dance move_!"

Sonic set his jaw and turned his back on Knuckles, heading to the door that would lead him to the brand-new moon pool—where the sub was waiting to be launched. "I'm leaving!"

"Admit it!"

"You abuse it," Sonic answered evenly, far too evenly in Tails's opinion. Just a minute ago he was tense with intimidation, and now he was fine—the power of banter probably; Sonic never passed up an opportunity to bandy arguments back and forth.

"Look me in the eye and say that, you coward."

Sonic stopped, shoulder's rising in agitation, and that was it. He flipped around, mouth already opening to lay into Knuckles, but the echidna was faster. His arms swung up and his head dropped.

Sonic screamed then, a full on guttural roar, and launched himself at Knuckles. He bounded over the workbench and Tails's delicate mechanics, far too gone in his rage to remember that he was supposed to be careful, and tackled Knuckles out of his chair. They rolled over the ground, grappling, and nearly knocked over a set of tubes and beakers—a chemistry experiment for a new dissolving agent that could and would probably explode if it was jostled too much.

"Be careful," Tails called halfheartedly as he tugged his goggles back on.

Across the room, something crashed, and Sonic's voice called, "That'll teach you! You don't deserve the dab! You don't know it's true power!"

* * *

 _Don't dab and drive, kids._

 _Reviews are cherished._


	7. Switched II

Notes: I wrote this really quickly as a little pick-me-up for someone. Yeah, there is a semi-narrative arc in some of these chapters. Who I be if there wasn't?

Disclaimer: This one is in the same scenario as Switched—a power swap AU of sorts.

 _Here we go_!

* * *

 _Aviator_

 _7\. Switched II_

 _(In which Tails has to deal with a strong, stir crazy Sonic and an out of control speedy Knuckles.)_

* * *

Tails is tracking Knuckles's movement on the computer when Sonic clomps down the stairs. Now that his speed is gone, his movements are heavy, less spritely, less springy, and more obvious. He can't zip around like he used to, and Tails both loves it and hates it. Loves it because Sonic can't sneak up on him; hates it because Sonic is miserable and Tails hates it when Sonic is miserable.

"Where is he?" Sonic asks as he falls, like a pile of logs, into the chair next to Tails.

"Apotos."

Sonic groans and throws his head back, lets out a whine, "I wanna go to _Apotos_..."

Tails sighs and watches Knuckles's little blip blink partly across the continent, now in the thick of Empire City. "Now he's in the city."

"I wanna go to _Empire City..._ "

Tails sighs again. "Sonic, you're whining."

"No, I'm nooooot."

Tails sets him with a sidelong look, but Sonic doesn't notice. He's too busy flinging himself around in large circles in the chair, legs kicking out, probably enjoying the bit of speed. Chaos, he's practically unreachable in this state.

"Hey," Tails snaps his fingers to get his attention, "go punch something."

Sonic glowers at him and grabs the table so he can fling himself around with all of his might. The chair cracks at the strain and Sonic flies in a circle, careening out of his seat because of centripetal force. He crashes into the far wall, breathless, laughing, and Tails feels a bit of panic because he's already self-destructive enough with his regular abilities. Equipped with mountain-shattering strength, Sonic could do some serious damage.

"Sonic, _please_ , you're going to break something."

Sonic sits up and rubs his head with a fat fist. "This place is like a bomb shelter. No way a sack of bones hitting it a marginal speed could hurt it."

"I didn't mean the _wall_ —"

Sonic waves him off. "I fall from space on a regular basis. I'll be fine."

Yeah, Tails wants to say, but that's when you're vibrating at supersonic speeds, when your molecules might very well exist in the space between spaces and a plummet through the atmosphere might seem like a small tumble down the stairs. Now, Sonic is a lot more vulnerable, can't dodge out of the way like he's used to, and his bones, which are used to operating on a certain frequency, are probably weaker. This is all hypothesis of course, and the only way to find out is to run some tests, but he isn't very keen on testing Sonic's new, uncontrollable, reflexes. The last he needs is Sonic's leg flying at him with the force of a fighter jet because he whacked it the wrong way with a rubber hammer.

"I'm gonna go again," Sonic declares as he sits back in the chair. It lets out a sad whine at the strain.

"Sonic," Tails tries, but the proximity alarm goes off and the door upstairs crashes open, strangling any pleading Tails may have been working up to. He sighs once again. "That's Knuckles."

Sonic springs up (well, he _tries_ to spring—it's more of a heavy thud) and rushes (clops) to the stairs. "Knuckles, did you bring me something? A souvenir, some food?" he sing-songs as he climbs the stairs.

Knuckles appears at the top, flickering into existence with a pained, strained expression. "No," he answers, short, quick.

"Aww, you're a terrible friend!" At least Sonic's quick wit didn't go along with his speed. Which is to say, of course it didn't. Sonic wouldn't be Sonic if he wasn't able to conjure up speed responses to any situation.

"I don't know where I went." Knuckles's voice is clipped, panicked, and he casts a look over Sonic and toward Tails. The fox glances back at the computer.

"Hill Top, Apotos, Empire City, Star Light—"

"I wanna go to _Star Light Zone_ ," Sonic moans.

"—Never Lake, Monopole, Mystic Ruins."

Knuckles groans and ignores Sonic's indignant _Never Lake!_ "It was all a blur."

"So were you," Sonic agrees. Knuckles flickers again, and something crashes in the kitchen, but then he's back, fists clenched and just as windswept as before.

"Sonic, stop already. I don't want your speed."

"Give it back then!"

Knuckles sends Tails another pained glance, but Tails can only shrug. He doesn't have a solution yet.

"Okay," Knuckles says then, in a voice that says he just made a decision, "I need you to force me to be still."

Sonic lights up. "You want me to give you a big ole hug?" He continues his thudding, dragging way up the stairs.

"No," Knuckles answers, teeth gritted, voice just as heavy as Sonic's gait.

"Just sit on him," Tails calls as he turns back to the computer to pretend to be busy.

Sonic makes a happy sound and Knuckles doesn't say anything else so that must be more desirable than being locked in a bear hug with Sonic for the foreseeable future. At least Sonic's strength is comparable to Knuckles's speed. If he puts the correct amount of leverage on him, neither one of them should move.

"Have fun cuddling!" Tails calls as an afterthought, just as Sonic reaches the top of the stairs.

"Tails!"

"What the hell?!"

Their indignation is identical, so at least they can agree on something.

* * *

 _Reviews are cherished._


	8. re: Equilibrium

Notes: I actually ended up spending this whole week working on a Sonic fangame with Katiemonz and Yamiii. (Check out my profile for a link!) But, because of this, I didn't get anything big written for Sonic's bday. Instead, I decided to do something a little understated, and I rewrote a oneshot I posted a while ago, "Equilibrium." I wanted to streamline it, change a few of the themes, and switch the POV to Tails, so here we are.

Disclaimer: Happy birthday Sonic. You're older than me. :P

 _Forward_!

* * *

 _Aviator_

 _8\. re: Equilibrium_

 _(In which Sonic stares out the window on his birthday, contemplating, and Tails needs to get him out of the house.)_

* * *

Sonic's birthday is usually what you'd expect: fun, laughter, parties, and cake—at least in the afternoon. The morning of Sonic's birthday is reserved for quiet reflection, on another year of world-saving and close calls. Sonic usually finds his favorite spot in or around the workshop—it changes often, so sometimes Tails has to really hunt for him—and he thinks. It seems antithetical to Sonic's normal behavior and active, loud personality, but it also makes just enough sense that Tails doesn't question him when June 23rd rolls around and he goes missing for a few hours.

It's that Sonic doesn't really believe that his birthday belongs to him. He hasn't said as much to Tails, but the fox knows Sonic better than Sonic knows himself sometimes, and the way he contemplates things reeks of selflessness. Perhaps it's just because Tails recognizes the signs, the long looks, the deep breaths, but he knows when Sonic is thinking about all the people he's influenced or saved. It exhausts him, acknowledging the sheer number of people, because he also knows that there's a fraction that he _couldn't_ save.

The birthday morning also acts as a sort of vigil for these lost lives. Sonic never really takes credit for anything, the good or the bad, always shrugs off thanks with "No problem!" because acknowledging those would also mean acknowledging where he failed. And if there's one thing he'll never do, it's think about Station Square's flooding or Westopolis's almost total destruction at the hands of Black Doom.

At least, on any day other than his birthday.

It's exhausting to watch, so Tails lets him stew for about an hour and a half before forcibly ripping him from his thoughts if he has to. Sonic has a habit of spiraling if he sits and thinks for too long, so it's up to Tails to save him from himself. Often, it's with a "C'mon Sonic, don't do this again" and a cup of hot cocoa, but today they're on the last of the cocoa and Tails doesn't have enough spoons to give Sonic what he wants.

He finds Sonic curled up in the kitchen's bay window, staring out across the plateau, toward the water. His gaze is unfocused so he's lodged firmly in his own head and Tails approaches quietly but obviously, letting his feet make tell-tale sounds on the tile so Sonic can hear him. A blue ear flicks in his direction, acknowledgement enough, and Tails hands him the single cup of cocoa he managed to wrangle out of the tin without a word. Sonic accepts it just as silently and takes a tentative sip while Tails clambers up on the seat next to him.

"What'cha doin'?" Tails asks as he watches Sonic watch him through the mug's steam.

"Thinking," Sonic grunts back.

"About morality or how great the party's gonna be?"

Sonic rolls his eyes and takes another sip, this time with more gusto. "The first."

"Mm, I figured. This is a nasty habit we need to break."

"It helps me."

"I know." Tails sighs and reaches for the cup. Sonic pulls it closer to his chest. "We've only got one. You gotta share, Mister Hero."

Sonic wrinkles his nose. "You backwash."

"I do not."

"Used to."

"When I was _six_."

"Aren't you still six? Pretty sure you haven't—"

"I'm twelve. Give me some hot cocoa."

Sonic chuckles and passes the cup over. Tails makes a big show of wiping the lip off and throwing back a swig.

"I know you think you need to categorize all the little things you've done wrong over the past year, but this can't be healthy," Tails says as he swirls the liquid around.

"You think I should ignore it?" Sonic sounds incredulous, as if he can't believe that Tails, usually full of wisdom Tails, is suggesting such unhealthy behavior.

"No, I think you should face it when it happens instead of bottling it up."

Sonic sniffs and pulls his knees into his chest, wraps his arms around them. "If I do that, it'll slow me down."

Tails hands the mug back over to make Sonic open up his little ball some. "Not if you take it in pieces. Being depressed on your birthday isn't good, y'know. This is supposed to be your day, and you're spending it thinking about everyone else."

Sonic sighs and looks down at the mug. It's half empty now, and slowly going cold. "When'd you get so smart?"

"Born that way."

"And you're humble too."

Tails grins at him, wide, without a second thought. "I learn from the best."

Sonic rolls his eyes and stretches his legs out, nearly kicking Tails in the process. His double-jointed knees pop easily, which makes Tails's ears twitch. "Yeah, I guess so. If only the best could learn from you."

"He can. He's not a total lost cause yet."

Sonic chuckles. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably get lost or blown up or something. Or, Chaos forbid, stuck in your own head for you _whole birthday_. Can you imagine? Sonic, that's depressing."

Sonic swings his legs off the bench. "Maybe, but I'll never know, because I got you to keep that from happening. C'mon, let's go somewhere."

"Like where?"

Sonic shrugs and downs the rest of the cocoa. "Wherever the wind takes us."

* * *

 _Please go check out our game! It's a little text-based, choose-your-adventure game where you play as Tails. Tails wants to plan Sonic's birthday party without Sonic knowing, but Sonic is a suspicious bean, so it's up to you to help keep Sonic distracted and juggle any emergencies that come up in the party planning process. We've spent a lot of time and put in a lot of effort, and we'd really appreciate it if you gave it a look!_

 _Reviews are cherished._


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